Kelvin Gastelum thinks his UFC on ESPN 29 main event bout with Jared Cannonier was scored incorrectly by the judges.
Gastelum (16-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Cannonier (14-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) in Saturday’s middleweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He lost 48-47 scores from all three judges in a bout that featured a handful of momentum swings.
Although “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner Gastelum started and finished the fight strong, Cannonier had the most significant moment of the fight with a third-round knockdown. Cannonier was also credited with 81 significant strikes landed over five rounds, while Gastelum had the greater output with 89 significant strikes landed.
Gastelum apparently thinks his body of work was better and felt he should’ve left the octagon with his hand raised. He expressed as much on social media after the bout (via Twitter):
I think I won but whatever …
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) August 22, 2021
I think I won but whatever …
It’s clear both athletes and their teams saw the fight differently. Corner cameras on the live broadcast saw Gastelum’s head coach, Rafael Cordeiro, tell him he was up three rounds to one going into the final frame. Cannonier’s head coach, John Crouch, told his fighter he was ahead by the same score going into the final five minutes.
Ultimately, though, the three judges sitting cageside – Mike Bell, Sal D’amato, and Junichiro Kamijo – all saw it the same way, and they are the only opinions that matter in this instance.
Despite being on the wrong end of the official scorecards, Gastelum congratulated his opponent for his efforts in another tweet after the fight:
Congratulations to Jared Cannonier on a very competitive fight!
Small adjustments and we’re back on top!
Tonight just proved that! We’re very close to being the best in the world.
Almost there & On to the next one!— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) August 22, 2021
Congratulations to Jared Cannonier on a very competitive fight!
Small adjustments and we’re back on top!
Tonight just proved that! We’re very close to being the best in the world.
Almost there & On to the next one!
Gastelum is now 1-5 in his past six octagon appearances dating back to April 2019.
